Synopses & Reviews
Erudite Thomas Jefferson, wily Ben Franklin, rough-hewn general Ethan Allen, and Thomas Young (the forgotten Founder who instigated the Boston Tea Party)—the radicals who founded America set their sights on a revolution of the mind. Derided as “infidels” and “atheists” in their own time, they wanted liberation not just from one king but from the tyranny of supernatural religion. The ideas that inspired them were neither British nor Christian but largely ancient, pagan, and continental: the fecund universe of the dreaded Lucretius; the potent (but nontranscendent) natural divinity of the heretic Spinoza.
Review
"Matthew Stewart's brilliant new book breathes fresh life into our understanding of the American Revolution. Beautifully written and lucidly argued, recovers the lost voices and original intentions of the thoughtful men who made America. Sure to stir controversy on all fronts, will set the agenda for serious discussion of the American Revolution's significance in world history." Peter S. Onuf, author of The Mind of Thomas Jefferson
Review
"Splendid...imaginative but never fanciful, even at its most surprising. What lends a good deal of its verve is Matthew Stewart's unabashed attachment not only to the revolutionaries as they really were but to the skeptical rationalism they embodied. This is partisan scholarship as it should be written, and much needed service to the public." Alan Ryan, author of The Making of Modern Liberalism
Review
"In a book that offers you a chance to rethink much of what you thought you knew about America's founders, Matthew Stewart traces the little-known influence of secular philosophers, from Epicurus through Spinoza, on the revolutionary generation and offers a lively, powerful, and erudite refutation of the myth that the framers of our secular Constitution had any intention of founding an orthodox Christian nation." Susan Jacoby, author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism
Review
"Eloquently argued." Wendy Smith
Review
"Enthralling and important ... [A] pleasure to read." Los Angeles Times
Review
"Impressive... refreshing." Buzzy Jackson Boston Globe
Synopsis
A startling, paradigm-shifting exploration of the revolutionary part of the American Revolution: the ideas that changed the world for good.
Synopsis
Where did the ideas come from that became the cornerstone of American democracy?
Synopsis
Not only the erudite Thomas Jefferson, the wily and elusive Ben Franklin, and the underappreciated Thomas Paine, but also Ethan Allen, the hero of the Green Mountain Boys, and Thomas Young, the forgotten Founder who kicked off the Boston Tea Party--these radicals who founded America set their sights on a revolution of the mind. Derided as "infidels" and "atheists" in their own time, they wanted to liberate us not just from one king but from the tyranny of supernatural religion.
About the Author
Matthew Stewart is a former management consultant and the author of the books The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World and The Management Myth: Why the Experts Keep Getting It Wrong. He lives with his family in Santa Barbara, California.